reid: mr. president, i ask unanimous consent the senate recess subject to call of the chair. the presiding officer: without objection. the senate stands in recess the senate stands in recess >> lawmakers taking a break now that they've completed their legislative work having taken care of two executive nominations. they're heading off to attend party caucus meetings as leaders continue to work on an agreement to avoid the looming fiscal cliff. and c-span's cameras are trained outside those meeting rooms in case lawmakers or staff talk to the press. we're also standing by in the house meeting rooms and the rules committee is poised to consider any agreement. we'll have updates as they become available. and as a reminder, we have a special web page set up with access to video of related briefings and hearings, a twitter feed from reporters and members and our resource area which features documents and articles all available at c-span.org/fiscalcliff. >>> we're going to turn now back to our regular weekend programs here on booktv, and we'll take you back to the senate if and whe